

In the 1920s and ’30s, Hawaiian plantation workers were already wearing brightly colored Palaka shirts. Inspiration could also be found on the islands.

Mainland Americans sailed west in collared shirts, Chinese settlers favored silk. Japanese immigrants carried bright fabrics used for Kimonos to the Hawaiian Islands, while Filipino men wore Barong shirts. In addition to bringing their cultures to Hawaii, these new citizens also brought their clothing. The multiple inspirations for Hawaiian Aloha shirts arrived with the waves of immigrants who came to Hawaii in the early 20th century. mainland, their name changes to Hawaiian shirts. However, as soon as the shirts cross the Pacific Ocean to the U.S. When Honolulu's Ellery Chun invented the shirts in 1931, they were known as Aloha shirts, and they continue to be called Aloha shirts on the islands today. Its history comes from a variety of cultural sources, whose multiplicities are appropriately represented by the patchwork nature of the colorful shirts themselves.įor fans and budding collectors, one of the first questions is what to call them-are they Hawaiian shirts or Aloha shirts? The answer, it turns out, depends on where you live. Some people find them gaudy, others consider them tacky, but few things represent Hawaiian culture better than the Hawaiian Aloha shirt.
